


Of Immortality and Souvenirs

by loosingletters



Category: Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling, Hetalia: Axis Powers
Genre: 100 Themes Challenge, Capitals, Countries Using Human Names, Crack Treated Seriously, Deutsch | German, Fluff and Humor, Gen, Historical Hetalia, History, M/M, Master of Death Harry Potter, Other Additional Tags to Be Added
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-03-28
Updated: 2018-06-03
Packaged: 2019-04-14 03:06:13
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 8
Words: 4,756
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14126736
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/loosingletters/pseuds/loosingletters
Summary: Harry Potter taking a break from the magical world and the continued existence of an abolished nation correlate.Or: Harry is traveling through Germany and somehow gains the attention of a bored Prussia, clinging to the remains of his existence. Meanwhile, England is trying to figure out how he should deal with the Master of Death, once he can find him again, and one Teddy Lupin gets a lot of souvenirs from his godfather.





	1. Prompts

**Author's Note:**

> I don't even know.  
> I was re-reading Hetalia fanfiction and looking at the news and had just read some Harry Potter fanfiction and my brain thought it would be a brilliant idea to try to explain how Prussia seems to still exist in canon in the present with Harry Potter.  
> And then I thought I need some writing practice, therefore the 100 Themes Writing Challenge. So this will be 100 drabbles, all at least 100 words long. This first chapter here is just a list of all the prompts.

100 Prompts Writing Challenge

  1. **Introduction**
  2. Complicated
  3. Making History
  4. Rivalry
  5. Unbreakable
  6. Obsession
  7. Eternity
  8. Gateway
  9. Death
  10. Opportunities
  11. 33%
  12. Dead Wrong
  13. Running Away
  14. Judgment
  15. Seeking Solace
  16. Excuses
  17. Vengeance
  18. Love
  19. Tears
  20. My Inspiration
  21. Never Again
  22. Online
  23. Failure
  24. Rebirth
  25. Breaking Away
  26. Forever and a day
  27. Lost and Found
  28. Light
  29. Dark
  30. Faith
  31. Colors
  32. Exploration
  33. Seeing Red
  34. Shades of Grey
  35. **Forgotten**
  36. Dreamer
  37. Mist
  38. Burning
  39. Out of Time
  40. Knowing How
  41. Fork in the road
  42. Start
  43. Nature’s Fury
  44. At Peace
  45. Heart Song
  46. Reflection
  47. Perfection
  48. Everyday Magic
  49. Umbrella
  50. Party
  51. Troubling Thoughts
  52. Stirring of the Wind
  53. Future
  54. Health and Healing
  55. Separation
  56. Everything For You
  57. Slow Down
  58. Heartfelt Apology
  59. Challenged
  60. Exhaustion
  61. Accuracy
  62. Irregular Orbit
  63. Cold Embrace
  64. Frost
  65. A Moment in Time
  66. Dangerous Territory
  67. Boundaries
  68. Unsettling Revelations
  69. Shattered
  70. Bitter Silence
  71. The True You
  72. Pretense
  73. Patience
  74. Midnight
  75. Shadows
  76. Summer Haze
  77. Memories
  78. Change in the Weather
  79. Illogical
  80. Only Human
  81. A Place to Belong
  82. Advantage
  83. Breakfast
  84. Echoes
  85. Falling
  86. Picking up the Pieces
  87. Gunshot
  88. Possession
  89. wilight
  90. Nowhere and Nothing
  91. Answers
  92. Innocence
  93. Simplicity
  94. Reality
  95. Acceptance
  96. Lesson
  97. Enthusiasm
  98. Game
  99. Friendship
  100. Endings




	2. #1 "Introduction"

Harry Potter liked to pretend he was a completely ordinary man. Wearing washed out jeans and oversized hoodies, he strolled through large cities like every other tourist would. Years of running around in Dudley’s too big hand-me-downs had made Harry accustomed to wearing loose clothes and, as long as they weren’t four sizes too big, they were very comfortable too.

Of course, he still stood out with the messy bird’s nest he called hair and the lightning scar covering his forehead. After Voldemort’s and his own death the mark had faded slightly so by now only thin white lines were covering his face instead of thick scars, but against his dark skin, they were still noticeable enough that he didn’t dare to step into magical areas without a disguise.

But in muggle regions, nobody wanted an interview or an autograph and therefore yes, Harry Potter stood out but not as he did in the magical world. The Harry Potter who lived in the muggle world had become a typical everyday tourist visiting the beautiful cities of Europe.

He’d already traveled through Portugal, Spain, France, Belgium and the Netherlands and was now on his way through Germany starting his sightseeing in Potsdam.

Now, Harry was well aware that, given that he had called a castle his home for six years, comparing other buildings to Hogwarts was a bit unfair. Especially since Hogwarts always seemed to be alive with students running through the halls and magic dancing through the paintings and the classrooms.

The castle in front of him was pretty, no questions asked, but it seemed to be lacking something Harry couldn’t quite name.

“Usually people aren’t frowning at the famous Sanssouci Palace.”

Harry turned to his right, confused by being addressed so casually in the heaviest accented English he’d ever heard.

The man next to him smiled, his arms folded behind his neck. He was so pale, Harry thought he was staring at a ghost at first. The man’s blood red eyes only added to his unnatural appearance, which even the surprisingly normal blue shirt and khaki shorts couldn’t fix.

“I’m sorry?” Harry replied.

“Nah, I have to apologize but you looked just too funny staring at Sanssouci and frowning like the building is a personal offense. Don’t you think it’s beautiful?”

“It is beautiful,” Harry agreed. “But it lacks something.”

The stranger’s smile fell a bit and a nostalgic expression took over. Harry wondered how could somebody look so fond and so sad at the same time.

“Mhm, it really is. You should have seen it when it was more than a tourist attraction.”

The affection in the German's voice was apparent. He spoke like he’d been there to see the castle when it was still in use.

“It was alive! In summer you could watch the butterflies right through the windows…” He trailed off and grimaced at Harry. “Eh- yes. It was definitely a cool place to hang out. Wish I could have experienced that. Hah. Uh, anyway. Enjoy your stay and all that. Sorry for bothering you.”

The man dropped his arms but made no real attempt to leave. Perhaps he wasn’t quite sure how to exit this one-sided conversation.

“You didn’t bother me,” Harry said. “Do you work here or something? You seem to know quite a lot about this place.”

The man mustered Harry like he was trying to figure out what hidden agenda Harry had. Honestly, Harry should be the suspicious one between the two of them. He wasn’t the one who started a conversation with a random stranger.

“Or something. Why? You interested in learning more?”

The German's poorly hidden excitement was contagious.

“If you’re willing to share. I’m Harry Potter by the way. Nice to meet you.”

He held out his hand and waited for recognition to hit but the man didn’t seem to know him. So he really was just a regular muggle who happened to look a little strange.

The man shook Harry’s hand with a bright smile.

“I’m Gilbert Beilschmidt. Now, Sanssouci was built by Friedrich II or Frederick II for you English speaking people…”

The tour of the castle turned into a full-blown history lesson on Prussia and Frederick II.

And well, if Harry let himself be talked into lunch and dinner in small restaurants hiding in corners only a citizen of the city would know, then it was his business.


	3. #35 "Forgotten"

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> People are actually reading this? Honestly didn't expect that but I hope you all like this story! So this is Gilbert's morning before he's off to meet Harry.  
> I don't think the rest of the prompts will be so chronological. Would you mind that terribly or is that okay?  
> By the way, this is taking place in the year 2005.

If once upon a time, somebody had asked Gilbert if he were afraid of fading like so many nations before, like his father Germania had, then he only would have sneered. He hadn’t been _weak_ like the other nations and didn’t make the mistake of remaining a clustered mess of only people with no real authority or borders like his father. He fought and won more battles than his neighbors, grew faster, got stronger and left enough marks in history that no one could possibly forget him.

Hell, he’d been the reason that a unified Germany existed!

And he had remained while the weaker German nations slowly lost their personality and eventually helped Ludwig grow up.

No, the great Preußen hadn't been afraid of fading, arrogance had made him blind and proud.

After all, he was awesome, and surely nothing would ever stop him. Only a century and two world wars taught him differently.

Gone was the undefeated nation, fading into obscurity like all his siblings whose names he had never bothered to learn. He hadn't been close to them, nor had he even liked half of them, so why bother with it?

Surely they were laughing at him now like he had at them so many years ago for clinging to their names in hopes of remaining independent enough to still count as a nation.

But look at him now, doing the same with his designation as Ostdeutschland, a state that didn’t even exist on paper anymore. A state whose ideals he had never accepted. The lines between a nation’s believes and its people’s were so blurry that often you couldn’t tell them apart, but Gilbert had drawn the line right there. Crawling up to Russia and his precious failing communism?

No, thanks. He had that much pride still left.

Perhaps it would have been smarter to let himself be changed, in that case, it would be much easier now to focus on the people who wanted the old times back.

But the DDR - who the hell was that supposed to be again? _Him?_

It was a miracle he hadn’t split then, and it was downright impossible that he was still standing now.

Prussia’s been dead for ages, the DDR had become a part of the Bundesrepublik Deutschland and Ostdeutschland was becoming a memory.

The more that the differences between east and west disappeared, the more did his citizens view themselves as only German. No “east” needed anymore.

He could see it whenever he looked in the mirror, could feel it in his bones. His injuries didn’t heal as fast as usual, he was sickly pale, sometimes his hair looked almost blond and his eyes flashed blue.

As handsome as his brother was, Gilbert didn’t want to become a part of him. He wanted to stay alive, to exist. And if it meant clinging to a weak name for as long as his pathetic body could stand it, then he’d do it.

If you can’t win, do your best to survive. He’d said that to Ludwig ages ago when that idiot Wilhelm had refused the crown. Gilbert should take his own advice to heart.

Sighing he got ready for the day and made his way down to the kitchen with a yawn.

Ludwig was, of course, already done with breakfast and had cleaned his side of the table while a cup of coffee and two bread rolls were waiting for Gilbert. A huge benefit of living with his brother was getting fresh bread every day because - for some reason - Ludwig insisted on going for a run every morning and always stopped at the bakery.

"Morning," he greeted and sat down on his chair.

"Guten morgen, Bruder. Are you sure you don't want to come to the G8 meeting with me?"

Trust Ludwig to start his day by talking about work. One of these days he'll force his brother to take a vacation. It couldn’t be healthy to work that much.

"Nope, I'm good staying here taking care of our home, the dogs and staying far away from cold Russia."

Ludwig rolled his eyes. "It's summer, Gilbert."

"Yeah, yeah, who cares. You go have fun with politics and I'm gonna spend a lovely afternoon in Potsdam."

"Visiting Sanssouci again?"

Gilbert nodded and bit into his Nutella bread. Even if Italy was useless most of the time, that guy knew how to create awesome food.

"Yep. The weather is beautiful today, and I've meant to take my bike for a spin ever since I repaired it."

So maybe repair was downplaying the upgrades he did but sue him, his motorbike had deserved these amazing adjustments.

"I hope these 'repairs' are all legal."

"Of course, I'd never go against the law."

They exchanged a few more words and Gilbert pretended he didn't see his brother's worry.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Alright, so this was very heavy on history. But uuh yeah.  
> Prussia is one of my favorite Hetalia characters but I wish his characterization would be less flat. Sure, there are a few passages hinting at deeper thoughts and all but this guy went from a powerful nation to clinging to the name of a state that doesn't exist.  
> I don't know how much you know about German history but basically with the wall Germany was separated into east (Deutsche Demokratische Republik) and west (Bundesrepublik Deutschland). And even after the wall fell, many people still separated themselves into east and west. Nowadays though? Nah. You're German.  
> So, while per definition, Gilbert is still east, there actually isn't much "east" left: no borders, and even the people are unified.  
> So that's why Gilbert's feeling awful.
> 
> Now about that first part. There were lots and lots of German nations which later became a part of Germany or the surrounding countries. In canon Gilbert says he can't keep all of them apart, I just added some more arrogance to that.
> 
> Huh. Didn't expect this explanation to get so long. Don't even know if you guys need it but here you get it either way!
> 
> Thanks for reading, I hope you liked this chapter!


	4. #76 Summerhaze

Much like almost all seven-year-olds, Teddy Lupin’s favorite season was summer. The days got longer and warmer and he didn’t have to go to school. Now, Teddy liked school. He enjoyed reading and learning and playing with his friends in the breaks and there were few things he loved more.

Summer happened to bring Teddy’s favorite relative to him: his godfather.

While he lived with his grandmother all year round, his summer breaks he always spent with Uncle Harry. Usually, that meant spending the largest part of his vacation with the Weasely family as well, which in turn promised a summer full of pranks, laughter and Quidditch. Not that they told that his grandmother or Molly Weasely. Everybody else wasn’t worried about letting him play with a children’s broom.

Last summer though that routine had changed and let this be said, Teddy didn’t exactly like change. As much as he enjoyed his hair colors being restricted by nothing but his own imagination, Teddy found a certain degree of established schedule comforting.

Nevertheless, when Harry had suggested that Teddy traveled with him for a month, he had agreed reluctantly. Harry had assured him that if Teddy wanted to go back home, they’d do so immediately. In the end that wasn’t needed because Spain ended up being pretty much the coolest place to be in. It was super warm and he could play at beaches all day long or look at old muggle buildings. All these posh wizards and witches could say what they want, but muggles had built some really impressive stuff. The only downside to it all was that he couldn’t keep changing his hair color whenever they were outside due to all the muggles. But Teddy had a pretty good grip on his metamorphmagus abilities, so that proved no problem. And in the safety of their hotel rooms, Teddy could let loose.

“Do you have everything, dear?” His grandmother Andromeda asked him when Teddy jumped down the stairs, Harry following behind him with his suitcase.

“Yes!”

“And checked over three times,” Harry added. “We’re ready to go.”

He held up the German portkey, a document filled out by the country’s ministry. It was a lot more boring than the English international portkeys or the flag they had used to get to Spain but Teddy guessed it was easier carrying around just one piece of paper instead of ten they had to last time.

“Alright, boys. Have fun and come back in one piece, yes?”

“Of course!” Teddy promised and hugged Andromeda one last time.

Then with a bright smile and the wish for adventure, Harry and Teddy disappeared from the Tonks’ living room and reappeared in Harry’s rented vacation house.

The odd duo immediately sat down on the ground, both not really a fan of portkeys as the following nausea was everything but pleasant.

“You okay, kiddo?” Harry asked and stood up. He’d gotten used to portkeys and dealing with the following feeling of sickness after using them quite frequently. Sure, he was mostly staying away from the magical world but nothing short of the apocalypse could get him into an airplane for multiple hours. Harry loved flying, but not in such a machine.

“Yes, Uncle Harry. But my head hurts a little.”

“That will pass fast. I’ll get you a glass of water.”

Harry disappeared into the room to Teddy’s right, probably the kitchen. The currently still blue-haired boy decided that he could get up now and made his way over to the sofa standing just a few feet away. He was already halfway there when the doorbell rang.

Teddy turned around and frowned. Why would anybody come to their home?

Harry reappeared in the living room, cursing under his breath and, per unspoken agreement, Teddy would use that to blackmail his godfather into buying them ice-cream later instead of ratting Harry out to his granny once summer was over. Teddy heard far worse curses from some of his classmates already but since Harry didn’t know that, the little boy would use the cursing to complain about Harry using a “bad word”.

“We took longer than I thought we would and Gilbert’s too early,” Harry sighed and gave Teddy a glass of water.

“Your German friend?” Teddy asked and shifted his hair color to black, matching his godfather.

“Exactly, kiddo. Don’t forget, he’s a muggle. No changing your colors.”

“I’m seven, Uncle Harry,” Teddy replied with an eye-roll and crossed the last steps to the sofa and sat down.

Honestly, he already knew how to act around muggles!

Harry opened the door and indeed, the awaited man stood there, grinning widely. Teddy crossed his and pouted. Okay, so he had to watch his colors but the muggle could have white hair and purple eyes? Totally unfair.

“Hallo, Harry!” Gilbert greeted and stepped into the house.

“You’re a bit early, we just arrived.”

“Sorry for that. My brother woke me up to complain about work and remind me to do water the plants in the garden. And since I was already up, I thought I could come over here anyway. If you hadn’t been here yet, I’d have waited,” Gilbert started to talk a mile a minute. “And you’re Teddy, right?”

Teddy jumped slightly at being addressed so suddenly when just seconds before he’d been focused on the man’s funny accent.

“Eh, yes. I’m Teddy Lupin. Nice to meet you, Mister.”

“None of that, you can call me Gilbert.”

Then the two adults went back to talking and Teddy slowly emptied his glass. The nausea was starting to wear off and Teddy’s respect for his godfather had risen again. Being able to hold a conversation so shortly after using the portkey was really amazing.

“You okay, kiddo?”

Teddy looked up from his water glass and stared right into his godfather’s worried face.

“Mhm, but the headache isn’t gone yet.”

Harry frowned and ran his hand through the boy’s hair. It was so nice and Teddy wasn’t feeling all that well and so his control slipped for just one second. But that second was already enough. The light purple of nausea took over the previously black mob of hair.

“Teddy!” Harry hissed and took a step towards the right, attempting to block Gilbert’s view of the child all while summoning his wand for a quick oblivate.

Before he could cast the spell though, the German man spoke up.

“So, your nephew’s got magic?” Gilbert asked, sounding surprised but not like his worldview just had to do a Copernican revolution.

The two wizards in the room came to a standstill.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Basically:  
> June 2005: Harry arrives in Germany  
> July 2005: He picks up Teddy & magic gets revealed
> 
> Thanks for reading! Writing Teddy was hard because I wanted him to be one of these adorably smart acting kids but also still be just your normal average child.


	5. #83 Breakfast

“ _This_ ,” Gilbert declared with all the might a once powerful century-old German nation could muster up, “is _not_ breakfast.”

“Says you,” Harry shot back and set another plate on the table.

They had this argument every morning Harry decided to put effort into making breakfast. Most of the time he didn’t bother as both of them had to leave early, but on Sundays Harry liked to eat a proper English breakfast.

“This is the furthest away from breakfast you have gotten since I met you. And last time you made champignons. Who eats _mushrooms_ for breakfast?” Gilbert asked and scooped baked beans on his plate.

“Well, we British folks do.”

Harry liked to think that all binational couples bickered as much as the two of them did over food, but sadly a look around the friends Harry had made in the last years proved him wrong. Discussing their national dishes as in depth as they did was apparently special and unique for them. At least they had fun eating their way through each other’s cooking.

“Arthur ruined the English kitchen,” Gilbert said and reached for the plate with eggs and bacon.

Harry only rolled his eyes at his boyfriend’s antics. But England’s talent in a kitchen really wasn’t for everyone. Well, anyone but America, if he was honest.

“Sadly, Arthur ruins everything in a kitchen. But my cooking is just fine, isn’t it?”

“Positively awesome.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I can't have a binational couple and not have them bicker over food.


	6. #52 Stirring of the Wind

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> No Harry this time! But worldbuilding!

“I’m home!” Gilbert called as soon as he shut the house door behind him.

He took off his shoes and jacket and left his keys in the old metal key box. Whistling he made his way to the kitchen, following the smell of pancakes. Ludwig’s plane must have landed early.

Awesome, he had missed his brother’s cooking. Gilbert, of course, was a very proficient cook himself, but it was nice to come home and have a meal waiting for him. Or, in times when Ludwig and Gilbert both were very busy, to cook together. Now, some nations prided themselves too much on their kitchen in his opinion, but Gilbert could not deny that dinner was an essential part of life going further than the mortals’ basic need to eat.

Gilbert opened the kitchen door, and to his surprise, the kitchen was indeed occupied by a blonde, but not the one he expected. A woman in light green robes turned away from the stove with a smile, showing off the frilly right apron France had given him for his birthday two years ago.

“Liselotte!” Gilbert greeted her. “You didn’t call! I would have stayed at home, had I known you were coming over.”

His smile widened into a huge grin, and only the frying pan in her hand stopped Gilbert from hugging her.

 “Welcome home, Vater,” Liselotte said, flipping another apple pancake while she was at it. “And I apologize I didn’t call. My education minister gave me the day off after I told him how much money I needed for the renovations of my school.”

Gilbert took a beer from the fridge and sat down on the table while Liselotte put the finished pancakes on their plates.

“You’re renovating again?” He asked, remembering the renovation plans she had shown him how many years ago now? Five?

Liselotte nodded, crossing her arms just like Ludwig did when he was about to talk about a topic which displeased him. The family resemblance certainly was striking.

“Not again, still. It’s not my fault my bosses are so slow with their paperwork. Last week they told me I should just put the potions classroom in the dungeons! The dungeons! Are they stupid? The basement is the support of the whole castle; if something dangerous happens in there, the whole castle could be affected! Honestly, if not for the old wards I’d abandon the castle all together and built a new school. It certainly would go faster.”

As annoyed as Liselotte seemed to be, nothing short of the apocalypse would make her leave her magic school. She had invested too much time it, and she loved it too much. Never mind that the castle was by far the most magical place in Germany. No proper Capital would leave a Nation’s most magical place.

“You’d never leave Schloss Arminius, Berlin,” Gilbert said and reached for the pancakes now stacked in front of him.

“No, I wouldn’t,” Liselotte admitted with another sigh. “Enough of that. How has summer been treating you? I heard from brother that you’ve been showing a mortal around. Flaunting all your Prussian pride.”

And Liselotte, having picked up all of Ludwig’s worst teenager habits, dared to smile at Gilbert with all the sass contained in her body.

“Ludwig ist eine Petze. I hate you so much.” _[Ludwig is a tattletale.]_

“No, you don’t. I’m your daughter,” Liselotte said.

She reached for another pancake; her third already – had she been eating properly?

“Adopted daughter. And don’t act like you wouldn’t indulge in giving someone a tour of your home ground.”

Because no matter how young, old, small or big they were, Capitals and Nations were proud of their country and loved every opportunity to show off their own light.

“Ja, ja. You’re right, I bow to your awesomeness and admit that I’d love doing some tourist tours again. Maybe when I’m less busy.”

Gilbert frowned at Liselotte’s wistful tone.

“Has anything happened? You’re awfully stressed given that no political disaster has happened. Or is it something in the magical world?”

“Magical world. And it’s nothing too bad. London just asked us to keep an eye open for someone and, you know, if it’s London asking, well…” Liselotte trailed off with a shake of her head. “Enough about me. Tell me about your plans. What have you shown the human?”

Happily, Gilbert retold what he had already shown Harry and where he planned to go with the man next, taking all Liselotte’s suggestions to heart and planning trips further and further away from Potsdam and Berlin.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Okay, so. Basically I needed to incorporate magic in this universe and given that the canon nations don't have much to do with it, I made up capitals (and immediately got invested).  
> No, they won't all be the opposite gender of their nation or just basic gender bend copies. They have their own personalities, shaped by the fact that they are the representation of a nations total magical household and magical culture is too different from regular one. They have their own beliefs, culture, etc.  
> Also, Capitals actually have to be raised. They start out as helpless little toddlers and it takes a while for them to grow up.
> 
> Background info/slight spoiler for further OS
> 
> Liselotte Beilschmidt is Germany's capital Berlin - not Prussia's. She calls him "Father" though since she's almost the same age as Ludwig (Berlin was first declared capital of the German Empire in 1869 and I estimated that Ludwig was born at the end of the 18th century) and Prussia was the one to raise her, since Ludwig was busy figuring himself out and getting over his teenage rebellion. Teenage rebellion being the "pre-March era" where students fought for human rights, freedom of speech and democracy. Given that the old aristocrats were against any of that, I imagine Prussia would have been a little more old-fashioned, supporting the nobility.
> 
> So Berlin and Germany are more like siblings. In other countries it's different.  
> The capital Rome, for example, is way older than North/South Italy and more like a weirdly strong and young grandmother who fights with her grandchildren about their religion because "how dare they be Catholic, we pledge loyalty to our Roman Gods. PRAISE ZEUS!"  
> The USA and DC have a strange relationship as well, since Amerika was pretty young still when DC popped up and basically a (still) teen dad who called France for help.  
> London and England are more like siblings though.
> 
> I also decided that every country has their own magic school because Europe hated each other and if you think for a sec, a German wizard could have gone to Hogwarts, you're mad.  
> Schloss Arminius is a castle hidden in the Teutoburger Wald, being protected by its friendly neighborhood lindworm.
> 
> Like I said, I got invested in this idea. I like coming up with magical traditions other countries could have. SO here I am, with a bunch of OCs trying my best.  
> I hope you liked this chapter (why are so many reading this anyway???) and I'd like to know what you think about Capitals and other countries' magical traditions. Tell me about what you think your country would be like. :D


	7. 93 Simplicity

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Uuuh let's jump 30 or so years into the future?

Gilbert liked toddlers and children. They were honest, extremely adorable, loved you unconditionally and didn’t ask questions they shouldn’t be asking.

Teenagers, on the other hand, were quite troublesome. Take your eyes off them for a moment and they try to stab you in the back by meeting with democratic officials or, even worse, declare their independence and start a war.

Thankfully his little brother had never gone that far.

“Uncle Gil, are you like a vampire or something?” Lily spoke up from her side of the sofa.

Moments before the thirteen-year-old had been completely immersed in her homework, but now she studied him like she was trying to figure out what was wrong with him. She took way too much after her mother, Victoire. Had he really been asking for too much when he had wished for some Teddy kind of obliviousness?

The metamorphmagus could, just like Harry, ignore the most obvious facts, even if they were right in front of him, blinking in bright red.

But no, Lily had to take after her ever curious mother.

“And why do you think I’m a vampire?” He asked her back, deciding to let this conversation play out instead of choosing the smarter path and stop it right there.

“Well, you’re pale and you have blood red eyes. Not to forget that you’re like 350 years old.”

“But you’re also forgetting your biology class. You’ve been taught about albinism already, haven’t you? Not everything about my looks can be explained by magic, Prinzessin.”

Lily crossed her arms over her chest. “But you’re still super old.”

“So is Harry.”

“But Uncle Harry has death magic and you don’t.”

“Why do you even think that I’m so old?”

“I saw a painting of you and a little girl who looked like Cousin Liselotte in school. The ghosts told me it was painted in 1709.”

Lily hold her head high, proud of her triumph. Well, Gilbert certainly couldn’t argue against a painted proof, especially not against such a precious one. He had to call Liselotte later and tell her about the painting. He hadn’t known that a painting of Louise still existed, which wasn’t locked away in one of his many houses.

“I’m not a vampire,” he repeated himself.

“What else then?”

Lilly crossed her arms and sat up straight. With her fiery red hair and bravery, she’d surely make an imitating witch someday. For now though, she was only a curious little girl.

“We will tell you when you’re older,” Gilbert decided, already exhausted by imagining the paperwork he’d have to work through to get the allowance for involving another human in national businesses.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So yeah Lily is kinda like their grandchild/niece, and a smart one too!  
> She's gonna take over the world once she figures it all out. Or become minister of magic.  
> And everybody in Harry's family knows he can't die and why, Gilbert is well kind of an open secret. The adults know, the kids will know when they become adults. In the end they are all just happy Harry isn't alone with his immortality.


	8. #61 Accuracy

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Ayyyy we're jumping back to the magic revelation!

Gilbert couldn’t claim to be a patient Nation, but centuries filled with wars and unexpected surprises had taught him to analyze a situation before he acted rash.

So he took in the sight of the panicked British mortal with a wand and a kid with color changing hair and decided he should probably call Berlin one of these days. After he had dealt with the wizards in front of him of course.

At least he now knew how Harry had managed to get his godson from England within a day when there hadn’t been any flights going in the morning. He’d been wondering about that ever since Harry had told him about picking up his godson. The British man being a secret millionaire with a private jet had been the most likely theory Gilbert had come up with. He hadn’t even considered magic. All the wizards he had met, had been so extravagant and undoubtedly magical. Harry was so ordinary in comparison.

“So, your nephew’s got magic?” Gilbert asked, trying to sound far more casual than he felt. While there was nothing Harry could do to harm him, and Gilbert didn’t think Harry would attempt to do so either, he’d rather not agitate the wizard who thought he had broken the Statute of Secrecy.

Harry’s expression changed from panicked to confused and Teddy, his hair now a soft green, peeked out from behind Harry.

“And you as well?” Gilbert added and pointed at the dark wand in Harry’s hand.

“I do, yes – You –” Harry took a deep breath and slowly lowered his arm. “You know about magic?”

“My cousin Liselotte is a witch, as well as some members of my extended family. While I can’t do magic myself, I’ve always known about it.”

He shrugged and put his hands in his jeans pockets. “So you don’t have to worry about your Statute. I’ve been briefed multiple times.”

That seemed to do the trick as Harry vanished his wand with a flick of his wrist – that’s a trick he had never seen anyone else do – and pushed Teddy back onto the sofa. Nevertheless, Harry didn’t move from his spot in front of his godson.

Silence falls between them and Gilbert wasn’t sure if he should talk more, take Harry’s mind away from the impossible chance this revelation was, or keep silent and wait for a reaction.

In the end, he didn’t have to choose as Teddy spoke up timidly, deciding to fill the absence with a question instead.

“Did your cousin go to Hogwarts?”

Well, that settled it. Gilbert would keep on talking.

“Nope! Liselotte attended school here. Why go to cold, old Scotland, when you can attend a school guarded by a dragon? When she came back from school, she’d always drag Ludwig and me off to the magical parts of the city so she could show us what she learned…”

It was a little sad how easily every word of his fairy tale rolled over his lips. But as long as he kept up farce, everything he was alright. He was just a muggle after all, and nobody demanded accuracy.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I hope this scene seems as awkward as it was intended to be.  
> Harry is caught by surprise and a steady "of fuck" playing at the back of his mind. His thoughts ranging from "now I'll lose a friend" to "there goes my vacation" to "Is Teddy's headache better" and he didn't expect somebody who is a muggle to just know.  
> Gilbert is just pretending that lying and half-truths aren't exhausting.  
> Teddy notices low key nothing of this and is just a curious bean.

**Author's Note:**

> Now let's get started with this monster.


End file.
